On Tuesday, the Celtics were able to survive with an overtime victory. Now they'll look to snap their Game 2 losing streak.
Jrue Holiday was a big contributor in Game 1, and I'm expecting that to continue tonight.
Meanwhile, Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard are a pair of Pacers who may pick up facilitating duties.
Let's dive into NBA player props tonight.
Jrue Holiday Over 13.5 Points (-118)
Pacers vs. Celtics | 8 p.m. ET, Game 2
I had a feeling that Holiday would be a factor offensively in Game 1, but I wanted to see how it played out first. This line is only a point higher than it was on Tuesday, and that may not matter if he follows up on that performance.
In Game 1, Holiday scored 28 points on 10-for-16 from the field and 4-for-8 from deep. He combined with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to score 90 of the Celtics' 133 points, becoming the first trio of teammates to have 25 points and three steals apiece in a playoff game.
For Holiday, he set a season-high in points and recorded his second-most field goal attempts in a Celtic uniform.
Holiday has enjoyed a lot of success against Indiana this season, as he's scored 14 points in three straight meetings and four of six overall. He's averaging 16.3 points per game in those matchups.
However, his aggressiveness might've been tied to Indiana's attempt to "hide" Tyrese Haliburton on him.
Haliburton is the engine of the Pacers' offense, but he's not a high-level defender at this stage of his career. Boston presents difficult matchups because Tatum and Brown are the focal points most nights, while Derrick White has stepped up in the playoffs as well.
With Kristaps Porzingis out, Holiday moves up to the fourth option offensively, but even then, he's not a typical fourth option by any means. He's averaging 16.8 points per game in the playoffs for his career.
It won't take an offensive explosion for Holiday to score 14 points tonight, especially considering he doubled this number in Game 1. When Holiday attempts 10 field goals, he's hit this line at a 60% rate over his past 30 games.
Should he repeat his Game 1 performance, you can also back him for 20 points at +360 on DraftKings.
Pick: Jrue Holiday Over 13.5 Points (-118)
Pascal Siakam Over 3.5 Assists (+114)
Pacers vs. Celtics | 8 p.m. ET, Game 2
Siakam took awhile to get going offensively before finishing with 24 points in Game 1. However, he remained active by pulling down 12 rebounds and dishing out seven assists.
Siakam now has had at least four assists in each of his past three games.
Dating back to his time with the Raptors, he's also hit this line in seven of his past 10 games against the Celtics, averaging 4.9 assists per game in that stretch.
Siakam is averaging 6.3 potential assists per game over his last 10 outings, including nine twice in the last five. The Pacers create those chances with their free-flowing offense. They also convert a lot of them, as they're averaging 115.2 points per game and shooting 51% in the playoffs.
Getting plus odds for four assists here is very enticing, given his history against Boston and Indiana's offense. With six to seven potential assists, he'll have a good chance to clear this line.
If he has nine potential assists again, he may notch six or more again.
You can back him for six assists at +500 on DraftKings.
Pick: Pascal Siakam Over 3.5 Assists (+114)
Andrew Nembhard Over 7.5 Rebounds + Assists (-113)
Pacers vs. Celtics | 8 p.m. ET, Game 2
Andrew Nembhard has had four assists in 12 consecutive playoff games, averaging 5.3 per evening in that span.
In Game 1, he had seven assists, nearly clearing this combo with just dimes.
However, he's also been contributing on the glass, too. Nembhard is averaging 3.3 rebounds per game over that 12-game stretch.
As a result, Nembhard has had eight rebounds and assists combined in eight of his past 12 games. In his past three games, he's had over 10 combined. He can still hit this line if he regresses slightly. However, I don't expect that to be the case.
Over his past 12 games, Nembhard is averaging 6.5 rebound chances and 8.9 potential assists. Against a Celtics team that shoots a lot of 3s, he'll have a chance to track down a few long rebounds.
He may take a couple of those rebounds and turn them into assists in transition before Boston can set its defense. If he converts 52% of his combined potential assists and rebound chances, he'll clear this combo again.
